The parishes of the Archdiocese of New York are also civil corporations, incorporated under New York State Religious Corporation law. This allows the archdiocese to control financial assets without owning them. Corporate decisions are made by the parish/corp's 5 member board of trustees. The board members are the Cardinal, the Vicar General of the archdiocese, the parish pastor and 2 lay trustees appointed by the pastor.
The parish corporation of St. Mary's/Immaculate Conception in Yonkers is named "Church of the Immaculate Conception."
Sometimes articles about parish mergers and closures say that the "parish" is in agreement or that a transaction was even proposed by "the parish."
Case in point from Silive.com, an article by Maura Grunlund titled "St. Mary's RC Church in Rosebank is desanctified; but what comes next"
“The building still belongs to the parish,” Zwilling said. “There have been no decisions yet made about the building’s future, although the parish does now have extra flexibility in deciding, in consultation with the Archdiocese, what future steps it might wish to take.”
But what did the "people of God" who reside in that parish want? And how many readers assumed that the "people of God" are the ones making these decisions.
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